How can you avoid being led by desire after a sudden lottery win or inheritance?

A sudden lottery win or inheritance does not automatically improve life, nor necessarily bring misfortune. More money still leaves the question of how you live and whether desire leads you.

We discussed news of family and business setbacks following a win, while also stating that company lawsuits were unrelated to winning. Later misfortune cannot simply be attributed to the prize. What deserves reflection is possible indirect development: after suddenly gaining money and losing goals, does life become only spending and play, with idleness and indulgence? This concerns life's direction, not establishing the cause of anyone's death in the news.

Another report described someone retiring early after inheriting, traveling, changing cars, moving somewhere with high rent, and indulging in expensive nightlife. Knowing the money would run out, they nevertheless assumed things would work themselves out and avoided financial reality. Within a few years little remained. The problem was not travel or a new car themselves, but ongoing spending beyond what could be sustained.

I use 'being lifted high before falling' to discuss spiritual tests. Sudden abundance may enlarge desires and make later loss more painful. Even with money, retain a wish to move in a better direction rather than live only for indulgence. As a child, I heard an elder say winning a major prize brings future blessings forward, though I no longer recall who said it. My view is not that everything is predetermined. That saying cannot establish that winners must lose blessings or encounter disaster.